Academic Detailing: Educating Physicians about Prescribing
Pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars annually marketing to physicians. They use expensive, well-packaged materials to promote their newest medications. Their primary goal: increase market share. But, newer is not always better. More often than not, there is an equally effective, less costly, or safer alternative already available to treat the same condition.
Our responsibility: to counter potential negative effects of increased market share of new medications. Through our Academic Detailing program, GHS identifies practitioners whose prescribing practices differ significantly from national guidelines. Then, our pharmacy specialists meet with select providers to improve prescribing practices using non-biased drug reviews, with a focus on efficacy, safety, clinical outcomes, and costs.
GHS also compares new medications to those previously available. We, in turn, provide doctors and pharmacists with print and electronic reports as part of our ongoing educational effort. This ensures clinicians receive accurate, impartial clinical information on appropriate prescribing.